FOUR vehicles were damaged in a blaze at Walls Truck Services at the weekend. Two lorries belonging to the firm and a lorry and a car being kept there for police purposes were destroyed in the fire, which police are treating as suspicious.

One of the buildings on the ten-acre site in Maesglas, Newport, was also damaged in the blaze. No-one was in the building at the time.

Firefighters were called there at 5.23pm on Saturday. Just over an hour later, owner John Wall told the Argus: "It is just a building used for storage. The damage is severe - it has destroyed four vehicles and the building is finished."

Mr Wall said he was not yet able to put a price on the damage. He said some of his staff had reported seeing someone running across the yard about 45 minutes before the fire broke out.

"They didn't think anything of it," said Mr Wall. "The next thing we knew we had a fire on our hands."

Mr Wall was at home when staff telephoned him to tell him about the blaze. He said he did not know who had found the fire or raised the alarm.

Four fire appliances and a hydraulic platform were used to put out the flames. Station Officer Allan Morris said: "South Wales Fire Service are investigating the cause of the fire."

DC Ian Hodgkinson, of Gwent Police, confirmed police were treating the fire as suspicious.

He said it was too early to say how the fire had started. He also appealed for witnesses to come forward. Anyone with any information about the fire is asked to contact Pill CID on 01633 244999 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

The cause of a blaze in a derelict factory on Saturday evening is being investigated, said a fire service spokeswoman.

Five appliances were called to the unit on the Queensway Meadows industrial estate at 7.30pm.

The factory was filled with discarded material and it took more than an hour to bring under control.